19 June, 2014

Maybe it's been my hectic schedule for the last few weeks - but, I ran across my posting from early 2009 and it seemed to speak to me all over again . . .

It can be hard work living a stylish life.

"Living in Sweatpants . . . "

Greetings,

So, the exciting life of an interior designer sometimes includes a quiet Friday evening sorting laundry and watching a back-to-back marathon of "What Not to Wear" with Clinton Kelly and Stacy London. It's one of my favourite guilty pleasures. But, it also has me thinking . . .

Tonight's episode was about a lovely woman who's spirit and self esteem seemed to be broken, who just never believed that she was beautiful . . . and thus, never tried to be - spending almost everyday in baggy, ill-fitting clothes. It was almost too heartbreaking to watch. But, it was also spectacular to see her slowly discover the wonderful individual that was waiting inside . . . and how focusing time and energy on herself helped bring out the amazing person that she was hiding from. Chic. Stylish. Confident.

So, why might someone who writes a design blog be chatting about this? Well, I wonder how often our home environments might suffer from the same sort of malady. How many folks aren't 'living in' their full potential? Just as it takes effort not to throw on the sweatpants and a t-shirt . . . is there an interior design equivalent? What might the design counterpart of 'wearing frumpy clothes' be? And what are ways to avoid this?

One of the ways I keep from 'living in sweatpants' is using my good china for every meal. Beautiful bedding helps me keep the 'frumpy clothes' monster at bay. oh, and fresh flowers do wonders.

5 comments:

Scot,This is a topic I've thought a lot about...basically, life takes some effort in order for you to get the most from it. It's especially important to fight off the "sweats" mentality once you've aged a little.My quest is to reach the grave still working at being the best that I can be. :-)Karen

Fun and thought provoking subject. I will add to fresh flowers always in my home, the use of cloth napkins with every meal, even breakfast and lunch, turning on ambient lighting every night in all the rooms, turning back the bed a few hours before bedtime and trying to avoid too much clutter.

I strive for weekly fresh flowers. It is a little something that brightens the home. I also am a fan of candles. I too have gone to cloth napkins, but I haven't quite gotten to using "the good stuff" for dinner wear and utensils! Geez, what am I waiting for?and Scot, glad you are back, missed you!

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Welcome to the musings of interior designer/stylist Scot Meacham Wood - living in San Francisco and working on projects across the United States. Following are images that inspire me, events that delight me, and anything that brings a smile to my face.